Friday, June 19, 2015

Francisco Javier
Arellano Félix’ aka "El Tigrillo" delivered “extensive post-sentencing
cooperation,” providing information, on cartel figures and the public officials
alike, who worked with them on both
sides of the border, the information will be used in arrests and in prosecutions.He is now obligated to testify in those
prosecutions.

The
UTSD article is defining Arellano Felix as “Cooperating Witness”. A
"Cooperating witnesses," or "CWs," differ from Confidential
Informants in that CWs agree to testify
in legal proceedings and have written
agreements with the Department of Justice (DOJ) (usually with an Assistant U.S.
Attorney) that spell out their obligations specifically and their expectations
of future judicial or prosecutive consideration.

His
reduction in sentencing means he could be released in 11.5 years, depending on
time served, good time reduction and when the clock began ticking. (
Lucio)

UTSD Article:

The life in prison
sentence for former drug cartel leader Francisco Javier Arellano Félix has been
reduced to 23 1/2 years because he’s provided crucial information to the government
that has led to prosecutions in the U.S. and Mexico, according to federal court
records.

Arellano pleaded guilty
in 2007 to racketeering and money laundering charges and was sentenced to life
in prison without parole, after the U.S. Department of Justice elected not to
seek the death penalty against him.

But court records say
that almost since his dramatic arrest in 2007, when he was plucked off a boat
in international waters by the U.S. Coast Guard and taken to San Diego to face
trial, Arellano has been cooperating with federal authorities.

In a court order filed
Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Larry A. Burns wrote that federal prosecutors
in San Diego had described his cooperation as “extensive.”

Arellano, now 45, met
with federal law enforcement agents 25 times over a five-year period, the judge
wrote, transported from the prisons where he is housed on 23-hour lockdown to
locations across the country.

The meetings sometimes
lasted for several days. At one, Arellano’s lawyer said, an agent told Arellano
the information he was giving was like “a dream come true.”

Precisely what he told
investigators isn’t publicly known. Documents that detail the extent of his
cooperation filed both by prosecutors with the U.S. Attorneys Office in San
Diego and Arellano’s lawyer are under seal in federal court in San Diego.

But in his order last
week, Burns said prosecutors had outlined Arellano’s “extensive post-sentencing
cooperation,” providing information on both cartel figures and the public
officials who worked with them on both sides of the border.

He wrote that
prosecutors contended in the secret documents that Arellano “provided
substantial and significant information that helped the government identify and
charge other large scale drug traffickers and corrupt public officials in this
country and Mexico.”

In the debriefings,
Arellano also provided information on what the judge said was the “structure
and methods” of how drug cartels operate in Mexico and along the southwest
border. And he agreed to testify against drug traffickers and others arrested
based on the information from Arellano, including what Burns described as
“critical documentary evidence.”

The revelations confirm
what many in the legal community had suspected: that Arellano had agreed to
work with federal authorities to stave off a potential death sentence, and earn
a lighter term.

“I’m sure he had very
current information on multiple people in the drug world when he was plucked
from the high seas,” said Jan Ronis, a San Diego criminal defense lawyer who
once represented Benjamin Arellano Felix, the oldest brother, whose arrest in
Mexico in 2002 led to Javier Arellano’s rise to the top. “I’m sure he was a
treasure trove of valuable information for the government.”

In a statement, U.S.
Attorney Laura Duffy echoed Burns’s comment that Arellano had provided
substantial assistance to authorities. “The court made a careful determination
that the reduction was appropriate and we agree,” said Duffy, who prosecuted
the case against Arellano before becoming head of the office.

Mark Adams, Arellano’s
lawyer, declined to comment.

The court file shows
that Burns reduced Arellano’s sentence to 282 months, or to 23 1/2 years, last
November on a motion filed by prosecutors, that argued Arellanos’ assistance
should earn him a discounted sentence.

That ruling ended a
lengthy, secretive process that began in 2008, a year after Arellano was
sentenced to life without parole, court records show.

At that time,
prosecutors filed a motion asking for the reduced sentence, but asked Burns to
hold off granting it. Burns agreed, and the motion remained sealed for the next
six years, while the federal government extracted as much information from
Arellano as they could.

Last November, federal
prosecutors finally asked Burns to grant the request and lower Arellano’s
sentence. Adams then filed a new defense motion, also under seal, arguing for a
further cut of 47 months to Arellanos’ sentence.

The reason he cited:
the government should have asked for a steeper sentencing cut given the value
of the information Arellano provided. Adams also argued that high-security
conditions Arellano lives under in prison limit his contact with his family and
what he can do while in prison.

Burns’ ruling was in
response to that second effort to get a lower sentence, and recapped the
history of his cooperation. The judge said he was unpersuaded a further
reduction was needed, writing Arellano’s “culpability for the many wicked
consequences of his crimes far outweighs any concern that the court may have
for the hardships of prison life.”

In February, 2015 after 9 years, Tigrillo's seized property was awarded to the government, including a luxury ocean front compound "Rancho Leonero" in Baja California Sur. The compound was used as a safe house/party central, and was difficult to access by land. It boasted a landing air strip and three separate estates

Nathan Jones, a
professor at Sam Houston State University in Texas who studies drug traffickers
and has written about the Arellanos, said Javier likely provided investigators
with a guide to the internal workings of his family cartel at a crucial time.
He could have provided investigators with insight into the bloody 2008-2010
period, when a bloody struggle for power and control of the cartel and the
lucrative Tijuana smuggling corridor erupted in Tijuana, leaving scores dead.

“I think he probably
was able to give them a lot of information they otherwise couldn’t have had,”
he said. “He might have knowledge of things like stash houses, or specific
players who were key to the operations.”

He also played a role
in the resolution of the case against his older brother, Benjamin Arellano
Felix. Once the head of the cartel, Benjamin was arrested in Mexico in 2002 – a
move that led to Javier assuming the leadership.

Benjamin was eventually
extradited to San Diego in 2011, pleaded guilty a year later to racketeering
and money laundering charges and is serving a 25-year-sentence.

His plea came after
Benjamin and Javier, who had agreed to testify against his brother in a trial,
met in an extraordinary meeting under heavy security in a building at the
Miramar Marine Corps Air Station. Benjamin had been skeptical his brother would
turn on him, sources told The San Diego Union-Tribune in a report published in
2013. But just weeks after the meeting, Benjamin Arellano pleaded guilty.

Below is the federal
attorney presser after the capture of Arellano Felix. Note that AFO is CAF

August 16, 2006

Deputy
attorney general McNulty: Good afternoon, ladies and
gentlemen. I’m very pleased to be joined on stage by Admiral Thad Allen, the
Commandant of the Coast Guard and Michael Braun, the Assistant Administrator
for Operations of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

We are here today to announce the apprehension
of one of the world’s major drug traffickers. The Arellano Felix organization
is the largest and most violent drug trafficking organization operating in the
Tijuana/Baja California/Mexico area.

Eleven individuals, representing the top
hierarchy of the Arellano Felix organization, including Francesco Javier
Arellano Felix were named in an indictment unsealed on July 8, 2003, in the
Southern District of California. The indictment charges these individuals with
racketeering offenses, conspiracy to import and distribute cocaine and
marijuana, and a conspiracy to commit money laundering. The indictment carries
penalties of up to life in prison. And in addition, it includes forfeiture of
almost $300 million. The indictment also alleges that the leadership of the
Arellano Felix organization, I’ll refer to it as AFO, negotiated directly with Colombian
cocaine trafficking organizations, including the FARC, for the purchase of
multi-ton shipments of cocaine and received those shipments by sea and air in
Mexico, and then arranged for smuggling of the cocaine into the United States.

The indictment specifies the role of Francisco
Javier Arellano Felix in the enterprise as one who participated in the most
major decisions of the AFO and specifies that he was in charge of the
organizations Tijuana and Mexicali operations after the arrest in Mexico of a co-defendant back in May of 2000.

The indictment also alleges that the Arellano
Felix organization recruited, trained and armed groups of bodyguards and
assassins responsible for protecting the leaders of the organization, and for
conducting assassinations of rival drug traffickers, suspected cooperators and
Mexican law enforcement and military personnel; along with members of the news
media. The charges specifically allege 20 murders in the United States and
Mexico that were carried out by the Arellano Felix organization.

Now, in addition to that indictment, which as
I said was unsealed July 8, 2003, information developed during a 14-month
fugitive investigation revealing that AFO leader Francisco Javier Arellano
Felix and others were expected to use the fishing vessel Doc Holliday, a U.S.
documented vessel. And so, on August 14th, just two days ago, DEA received
information that this vessel, Doc Holliday, was approximately 15 nautical miles
off the shore of La Paz, Mexico. And acting on this lead the DEA requested that
the United States Coast Guard interdict the vessel. Following the interdiction
of the vessel in international waters a boarding took place by the US Coast
Guard personnel and eight adults and three juveniles were discovered on board and
detained.

One of the individuals aboard the vessel, who
was traveling under an alias, later identified himself as the same Francisco
Javier Arellano Felix that I have described in this indictment. He is a CPOT
meaning he is a person who has been designated on a Consolidated Priority
Organizational Target List.

All of the individuals are being transported
by the Coast Guard to San Diego. Francisco Javier Arellano Felix will be
arraigned in the very near future on the indictment. This case is the result of
extraordinary coordination and cooperation between the governments of Mexico
and the United States. I especially want to thank Mexican Attorney General
Daniel Cabeza de Vaca for his leadership and partnership in these efforts. It
takes teamwork like this in order to accomplish such a significant arrest.

I also want to give special recognition to the
United States Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of California for the
charges that were pending that led to the arrest of the fugitive and to the men
and women of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the US Coast Guard for its
courageous and devoted work.

I now would like to introduce Mike Braun from
the Drug Enforcement Administration. Michael.

MR. BRAUN: Good afternoon. The DEA arrests a
lot of high-level drug traffickers, that’s nothing new, but to say that Javier
-- excuse me -- Francisco Javier Arellano Felix is just another drug trafficker
is an understatement. This guy happens to be, as the Deputy Attorney General
mentioned, one of the 45 most notorious, most wanted, drug traffickers in the
world. So, this is not your average arrest and Javier is not your average drug
trafficker.

For over a decade the AFO family has dominated
the Mexican drug trade and flooded our nation with literally tons and hundreds
of tons of a variety of drugs; cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine and heroin
to name just a few. That dynasty, built on drugs and ruthless violence, began
to topple in 2002 with the death of one of the Arellano Felix brothers and the
arrest of another; and was further weakened with the 2003 indictment of the
major remaining organization leaders by the US Attorney’s Office in San Diego.

The DEA and our Mexican counterparts have
pursued those leaders relentlessly ever since. And it’s important that you know
that Javier was one of the most ruthless thugs that was involved in drug
trafficking around the world. The organization that he led was under
investigation in Mexico. There are pending charges in Mexico, and as we’ve
said, there are pending charges in San Diego that he and other members will be
charged with or will be brought forward on those charges.

It’s also important to understand, though,
that we considered him such a threat to our country that the United States
State Department issued a $5 million bounty for his capture a few years ago. He
was the last strong hold in the declining AFO family cartel when we arrested
his brother Benjamin back in 2002. We called it the beginning of the end of the
AFO. Today we’ve got this brutal organization in a choke-hold and we are not
letting up. Our Mexican authorities -- our Mexican counterparts that we work
with very closely with and the DEA is absolutely full-court press at this
point. We’re piling on, if you will, and moving this initiative and this
ongoing investigation even more forward.

We at the DEA are in the job to protect our
country, to take drugs off the street, to protect our kids, and to make our
streets safe. Today this announcement, this huge success for law enforcement,
basically is what our job is all about. It’s what we live for.

Finally, I have to mention this, and hopefully
I don’t embarrass the Commandant by saying this, but we would not be here today
if it were not for the outstanding support rendered by our US Coast Guard. And
it is in testament to this dynamic, very flexible, maritime force -- the
flexibility that is needed as our nation continues to wage war in our war
against drugs and in our war against terrorism. Thank you very much.

McNulty:
Thank you, Mike. And you said it very well in terms of the kind of appreciation
we have for the Coast Guard. And we think of the Coast Guard constantly out
there rescuing individuals on the seas and yet those of us in law enforcement
know them as a major partner in our effort to go after organized drug trafficking
organizations. And I want to thank, also the Admiral, and introduce him now.

Admiral
Allen: It’s a pleasure to be here today and be part of this historic event.
We have long been partners with the Department of Justice and the Drug
Enforcement Administration on other long war, the war on drugs.

On Monday morning, August 14th, the Coast
Guard was requested by DEA to take part in an interagency operation off the
coast of Baja, California. At approximately 9:00 in the morning on Monday the
Coast Guard cutter Monsoon was positioned off shore. Based on prior law
enforcement work and intelligence intercepted a 43-foot recreational boat and
conducted a boarding with the crew of the Monsoon, which is crewed by 28 Coast
Guard personnel; it was augmented by two personnel from our Maritime Safety and
Security team based in Los Angeles.

As a result of the boarding we encountered 11
individuals, three minors and eight adults. Based on the identity verification
associated with those individuals, and the fact that there were warrants out
they were placed under arrest by the Coast Guard. They are currently on board
the Coast Guard cutter Monsoon en route San Diego under the escort of another
Coast Guard cutter.

I would just like to reaffirm what was said previously.
This is an extraordinary example of interagency cooperation and coordination.
Drug interdiction remains a vital core mission of the United States Coast Guard
and the Department of Homeland Security. But I think, moreover, it demonstrates
the flexibility and agility of the Department of Homeland Security to
simultaneously deal with an event of this magnitude while dealing with the
heightened threat period that we’re going through right now.

We’re proud to be partners with the Drug
Enforcement Administration and the Department of Justice, as we have been for
the entire 35 years I’ve been in the Coast Guard. It is an honor to be here
today.

Thank you.

McNulty:
Thank you, Commandant.

Q: Can you tell us
anything about the tip that came in about the Doc Holliday or how you found out
that the Doc Holliday was where it was and whether anybody will be getting that
$5 million reward?

McNulty: There aren’t a
lot of details we are prepared to share about this because of the sensitivity
of the law enforcement effort. Although I will give Mike a chance to take a
crack at your question. But generally speaking, we’re going to limit the
information we’re providing to the fact that the arrest has occurred and that
we received a tip on it.

I’m not sure about the award, I’ll see if Mike
has a response on that -- or anything else, Mike.

Mr. Braun: I can’t answer
your question with respect to the award -- reward. I don’t have that answer at
this point. We’ll certainly find out in the future. I can tell you that this
successful intervention on the part of the Coast Guard was part of a very long,
very complex, undercover operation that was backstopped by highly technical
means and support.

Q: So, is it possible no one will get any part of
that reward?

Mr. Braun:
That’s possible.

Q: Was there any other member of the drug cartel
of the Arellano Felix apprehended among those 11 adults?

McNulty: Well, we’re currently
not specifying other individuals in the group but all individuals have been
detained at this point. And more information will be forthcoming as to other
potential charges.

Q: What is going to
happen to the minors that were apprehended? And also, how this operation is
going to impact or diminish the Arellano Felix Organization within the United
States?

McNulty:
First, with regard to the minors, that too will be determined here in the very
near future. No decision as of right now has been made on that. With regard to
the organization, I think Mike said it well when he talked about the fact that
this is huge blow to the organization -- the head of the snake, if you will,
and that that represents obviously a significant impact on such a powerful drug
trafficking organization. It is, however, a large organization and much more
remains to be done. But we think that this, combined with an number of the
other efforts that have preceded it, will have a noticeable impact; not just on
Mexico, but also in the Untied States in terms of the ability to bring drugs
into the country and the violence that has occurred on this side of the border
in the San Diego area in particular.

Q: …And Mr. Arellano is
going to remain here in the US under custody, maybe to respond for the charges
against him?

McNulty:
He is being brought into the United States to be arraigned on the indictment
that I described as unsealed in 2003; those are the charges that are pending
against him at this time.

Q: Were any of the
others ones who were arrested named in the indictment?

McNultyy:
No.

Q:
Is there -- this is related to the last question -- there is at least one other
brother, Eduardo, I think, that’s wanted on equal $5 million reward. And it
makes me wonder if you can talk about the extent to which this organization can
continue to operate as it has without Javier Arellano Felix? Is it a crippling
blow? How do you describe it?

Mr.
Braun: Well, let me just lay out the family structure.
Ramon is dead. Benjamin is in La Palma Prison in Mexico and has been there for
quite some time after he was successfully arrested -- investigated and arrested
by Mexican authorities. Eduardo is out and about in Mexico, but our most recent
intelligence does not identify him as one who is capable of leading the
organization at this point in time.

So, as Deputy Attorney General McNulty said,
we feel like we’ve taken the head off the snake here. That’s not to say that
there may not be one or more members within the organization that are capable
of stepping up and taking over and running operations; that’s yet to be seen.
But we can tell you that we are -- we and our Mexican authorities and other
federal law enforcement agencies in our country that we work very closely with
-- again, at this point we are full-court press at this point to do as much
damage as we possibly can against this organization. They are extremely
vulnerable right now. So, again, we’re piling on.

Q: Mr. Braun, still on
the same issue, is the United States pursuing the extradition of Benjamin into
the US? I understand that his legal problems are reaching some kind of an end
in Mexico.

Mr. Braun: I believe that
we are. We’ll have to get back with you, though.

Q: Can I pull open the thing that was right here
in terms of the organization of the Araino Felix -- there is also the rumor in
Mexico that the Mayo Zambada organization is taking the leadership of the
Arellano Felix cartel -- probably the DEA knows more than me on this issue --
but so you say Eduardo is -- doesn’t have the leadership but people in Mexico
say it’s Mayo Zambada who is now in front of the Arellano Felix -- can you tell
me a little bit more about this relationship between these two drug cartels?
And another question, you mentioned it was a very close cooperation with Mexico
on this incident. What is the reason the Mexican authorities didn’t arrest this
guy? You don’t trust the authorities? I understand this guy was 15 miles from
the coast of La Paz.

Mr.
Braun: Let me answer your last question first. We trust the Mexican
authorities. We work very closely with Mexican authorities every single day of
the week, not only on this investigation but on an number of joint
investigations. So, we do trust them. And I can tell you that they contributed
significantly to this investigation at every step of the way. I’m not at
liberty to talk about the details at this point. They’ll come out certainly at
some time in the future.

And you’re going to have to refresh my memory
on the first part of your question.

Q: What is the relation
between Mayo Zambada and the --

Mr.
Braun: Okay, yes. Look the Tijuana corridor, as you know,
there has been a turf battle going on for quite some time between the AFO and
the Federation. There are a number of syndicates that comprise the Federation.
Do I believe personally, based on past experience, do my Mexican counterparts
believe based on their past experience that someone is going to fill in the gap
in this corridor at some point in the future? Absolutely, without question,
someone will, some organization will.

Q: Given the fact that
the indictment lays out the fact that this defendant is part of a conspiracy
that’s responsible for 20 murders is the Department in a position where they
could seek the death penalty if this goes to trial?

Mc
Nulty: I don’t have
any further information on that point right now.

Q: Regarding the Doc Holliday, is the boat
registered under any of the aliases of Javier Araiano?

Admiral
Allen: Issues associated with the ownership and the
registration of the boat are being developed as the investigation goes forward.
We have no information we can release at this time.

Q: General, please, can you help us -- give us
some information about the plane that was sent to Logan with a woman who was
detained -- will she face any federal charges?

McNulty:
All I can tell you about that situation right now is that we are closely
monitoring it, but facts are still coming in. I’m not in a position to give you
any definitive answers to questions about what will happen on that.

Q: Mr. Braun, can you tell us just about the
operation of the AFO in Peru? According to some reports in Mexico they were
working directly with cocaine producers in Peru, do you have any reports about
that?

Mr. Braun: We’ve talked
about this before. I can tell you -- well, you know, all of the cocaine that’s
on the global market originates, for the most part, in three countries in South
America, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia -- are there connections with Peru?
Absolutely. Because the AFO is moving a great deal of cocaine for Colombian
organizations across the southwest border -- are there links? Yes. But I’m not
prepared to go into detail at this point.

81 comments:

Interesting.... can anyone help me out? I'm interested in the mexican drug war and want to learn more about it in detail.. anyone have any informative links that can give me a broader insight? Thanks (:

Youtube has plenty of Documentaries and if you have a library card, try your local library. The books that I found the most informative about the starting of this so called "WAR ON DRUGS" was Desperados by Elaine Shannon '88Kings Of Cocaine by Guy Gugliotta & Jeff Leen '89Killing Pablo by Mark Bowden '01And Last but not least EL NARCO by Ioan Grillo '11

Even AL Capone sang "only Bugs Moran kills like this" when interrogated about the St Valentin's day massacre...--Bugs Moran said "only Al kills like that" too...--Sinaloans snitch, and everybody else does too, and I don't care

Fucking rats, the Carrillos have stooped so low as to kidnap and kill their own relatives. Now it comes to light that the AFO were a bunch of spineless cowards, disregarding loyalty for their own flesh and blood. Can't wait for the responses from AFO cheerleaders saying that the federation are the biggest snakes, lol should be fun, arriva Sinaloa

Self-preservation- the highest and most primary need- here's just another example. Problem is that this guy just jumped from the frying pan into the fire. His family surely is at risk even if he is protected.

@11:22..i remember reading that also,but i always thought he meant it as to take the heat away from him and put it on himself.So they met in a marine base.Guess we'll never know if beat him to the punch by pleading guilty and getting that 25 yr sentence,or he knew about his cooperation all along and took the plea,knowing alot of people were gonna go down.Also,never really understood why Tigrillo got the life sentence without parole and BAF got only 25 yrs.Did Tigrillo initially take it to court and lose?

grown-ups should not be complaining about snitches, they knew when they got in that there would be a price, everybody does the best they can, like the marines, in spite of their corrupt war heroes, they keep trying...

Reading this, and also looking at that picture of Tuta in prison, you get a small sense of how horribly these guys have messed up their lives. It is too horrible to contemplate for more than a moment. Im glad you left Tutas face up there for a while, it really started to sink in after seeing the misery in his eyes.

They may act like cowboys before they are caught, but the realization of how bad they have messed their lives up soon sets in. You can see it in their faces.

You only have ONE life.

How would it feel to be LOCKED in an IRON BOX, and realize that you have given up everything??

Its old news that Mayo's son came out and said his dad sent him to the US to snitch and curry favor with DEA. It was a decision made by a CDS that was united at the time. Everyone doesn't snitch, but every organization regardless of where there from, has members that do, from the top to the bottom and the bottom to the top. With CDS it was a modus operandi to snitch, ala whitey bugler

That was planned out. Mayo got snitched on by all his sons yet he's still not caught. If you haven't noticed all of Mayos old team Ondeado, MP11, antrax etc have all gone down since their detentions. Mayo gave up his goons to help his sons and has new people working for him now. Genius. He doesn't owe anyone shit. He paid and paid well to all those dudes.

For all you cartel cheerleaders : EVERYONE SNITCHES. When you're looking at life behind bars and freedom you'll do what's necessary to get out. The tough guy act only goes so far. And everyone tires of the stress the criminal life puts on you. Grow up all who live in this fantasy of going out in a blaze of glory. Stop watching all these Hollywood movies and believing all these fake ass corridos. No cartel is better than the other. They're all the same. They all take the same risks and believe their own bullshit legends. There is no golden era to any of this. It's all a LIE.

Big question here from Califas? How can Francisco Javier Arellano Felix (Leader of AFO) get his life sentence reduced to 11+yrs n Rene Boxer Enriquez (20+yrs mafioso for La EME) get his parole hearing denied? Im sure these 2 vatos did the same dirt n offered alot to the authorities?

But the boxer has been a Christian far longer than the AFOs and he got bored of having to hide the cell phones and the calcetin con grifa up in the ass...-- the afo juniors have never expressed any religious beliefs, so no miracles for them...

califas is so special, do not forget that there is a lot of drug trafficking there since the start, and many milionaire customers that surround themselves with gangsters and they are too close to las vegas, sin city...It was also the loving home of Richard Nixxon and his cuban cigar, BEBE REBOZO...--and they introduced a lot of heroin to califas that killed a lot of our brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers all through the vietnam war...

@ 4:35 your dumber then your post first of all not everyone snitches perfect example would be John Gotti took his life sentence like a man, So check your facts 2nd don't belive everything you read on the internet you act like these board is gospel it's just a site where we gather bits of information on the current so-called drug war.

Sammy "the bull" Gravano left no room to Gotti, the Commission knows its business, It is against the rules to murder your Godfather to get his position, Rudy Giuliani has had plenty chances to prove he is himself a crook too, with impunity, but he got John his comeuppance, hey??? And, see, nobody bothers john's family but themselves...

Sinaloa's owners always 'no' what to do, ever since the first chinese came by, and the narco world is about many more other things than one capo or another, with long established businesses and investments, hard to track or crack.